Milkweed Bug Update

We have been experiencing delays shipping
the adult milkweed bugs (Part number 270-4380) required for Investigation 1: Milkweed
Bugs of the FOSS Populations and Ecosystems course due to lack of availability and the insect's short life span.

Please note that your Teacher Guide indicates you will receive 24 adult milkweed bugs-12 female and 12 male. To alleviate life span issues, we will now be shipping
30 milkweed bugs that are in their last instar stage. The bugs will then take approximately 5 to 7 days to reach maturity. Once the milkweed bugs are mature,
you will be able to separate them by gender per the instructions in your Teacher Guide.

Because milkweed bugs cannot be differentiated
as male or female until they are adults, it is possible that
you will have an uneven number of male and female pairs.
However, the first part of the activity requires only 8 of
each gender; after that, the bugs will be mixed in the various
habitats and will reproduce.

If possible, please plan to order your milkweed
bugs to arrive one week earlier than you would normally need
them. This will allow the bugs time to reach maturity so
you can start Investigation 1 immediately. If you are unable
to plan ahead, we recommend that you start with Investigation
2: Sorting Out Life while waiting for the bugs
to mature.

We appreciate your business and apologize
for this inconvenience. If you have any questions, you can
call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-258-1302, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.